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3rd ID unit headed back to Iraq

Deployment of the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry Division has begun and will continue to ramp up over the next few days.

By the end of the month all 4,000 troops in the Fort Stewart-based brigade will be on the ground for a third tour in Iraq.

About 500 soldiers - an advance team and a port security team - have flown out of Hunter Army Airfield, said Kevin Larson, an Army spokesman.

"(Deployment) is going to become pretty heavy in the next couple of days," he said.

The sound of large aircraft coming and going from Hunter will become more routine, said airfield spokesman Steve Hart.

"Last night was the first flight marking the deployment of the main body," Hart said, noting some advance flights already had occurred, but the bulk will occur in the coming weeks.

Hart said troops say goodbye to their families and complete final processing at Stewart and are then bused to Hunter Airfield for ticketing before boarding military-chartered flights overseas.

"The aircraft vary from DC-10s to 737s," said Hart. "Many are airlines you've never heard of."

He added that the airfield also is sending out troops and equipment for unit training in the Mojave Desert in southern California. Hart said an aviation unit also has been mobilized for out-of-state training.

The 3rd ID will become the first Army division to serve three tours in Iraq. This deployment is part of a previously announced deployment of a combat force of 20,000 soldiers by this time next year.

The 3rd Brigade Combat Team at Fort Benning is slated to deploy sometime this spring, Larson said. That will total between 3,000 and 4,000 soldiers.

The American Red Cross of Savannah has been on hand at Hunter handing out toiletry and "comfort" kits to keep the soldiers refreshed on the flight. Soldiers will also get an American flag to carry with them.